SUPER SAVE TOOLS Super Save Your Scenes, Super Save Your Time!

Transcription

1 SUPER SAVE TOOLS Super Save Your Scenes, Super Save Your Time! Super Save 1

2 I. In brief, what are Super Save Scripts? Super Save Scripts are Daz Studio 4.9 and above smart saving tools and display comment tool allowing to: - In the basic save version, save your scenes incrementally silently, (no need to browse or write the new name) - In two the pro save version, save your scenes with the same name (OVER) or incrementally the same way AND : define if you want to render rendering thumbs and/or tip (with current view and current render engine) for the scene, save an associated comment if you write one for incremental saving, or if you modify one for the file saving over the existing file. - Load and read directly in the interface the comment for the current scene, as well as the history of comments for all the incremented scenes based on the same base name. II. How to install? The goal is to save a maximum of time, this is why it would be a pity to be forced to browse to the content directory where they are installed each time you want to save a scene incrementally. Here is the solution - you will need to install them only once : In order to access more easily the tools, the best option is to do, once only, the following steps : 1. browse to them once only in the content library (not in the smart content). If your product was installed using DIM or via manual installation, you can reach them easily, this requires one more step if the product ins Daz Connect. Please note that IF THE PRODUCT IS INSTALLED USING DAZ CONNECT, you can access the files in the content library the following by right clicking one of the files in the smart content and choose "show in Content Library". You will be sent to the Content Library, in the products part, this is fine. 2. Once done, meaning once you see the files in the content library tab, then right click on each of the tools, and for each of them, one after the other, choose the option "Create Custom Script". A message will inform you a custom script has been created. 3. This way, the scripts will be available directly by the Daz Studio Main Menus, in the Scripts Menu, located generally in the top of the interface, just between Window, and Help. If the Scripts Menu is not already visible, no worry, it will become visible as soon as you will "Create a Custom script". Once this is done, you can use the scripts easily, by simply lauching them (clicking them) in the custom script menu as shown in the next image. Super Save 2

3 Image 1 : where to find the scripts once installed Note : If you want to be even more efficient and reorganize the script menu, and create keyboard shortcuts for these scripts, as explained in the "Bonus Information" Part of this documentation. The following image illustrates the installation procedure. Image 2 : how to install efficiently, in 3 steps. Super Save 3

4 III. How to use the scripts and what will they do? III.a. V3D SSU Incremental Save Basic Let's start with the basic version. In order to work, you have to save your scene at least once, because if you want the scene name to be incremented, well, you have to have a scene name first. So if you started from a fresh new scene, save your current scene once "the classical way" once. Otherwise if you open an existing scene, you have nothing more to do. Now, when you worked enough on this scene and you want to save it with a new name, usually, what you did was a file/save as/ then you may have to browse to the location of you choice, and then you have to write a new name from the scene. This time, you just have to click on "Scripts" from the Main menu and on "V3D SSU Incremental Save Basic". Your scene will be saved with an incremental name. Each time you do this. This means, if the scene was called "MyScene", then the new saved scene will be saved in the same folder as the initial scene, but with the name, "MyScene_001". Then you can save, again, and again the same way, and the scenes will be called "MyScene_002", "MyScene_003", "MyScene_004", etc, etc up to "MyScene_999". (after 999 you will be asked to rename your scene). This will be a silent save! It means that NO window asking you where to save the scene and what name you want will pop up. You will just see the progress bar of the saving procedure. Security procedures have been included! Daz Studio Version detection : A pop up will inform you if you tried to launch the scripts for a non compatible DS version (version lower than DS 4.9 are not compatible). Base Name Analysis : if the scene has no name (was never saved) the program will ask you to save it once. Incremented Name Analysis : if you opened or reverted to a previous version of the scene, for instance "MyScene_004" and that "MyScene_005" already exists (since you came back to a previous version) the script will detect the incremented scene name already exists and gives you 3 choices: - Save and overwrite file anyway will save over the already existing incremented name (meaning if your "MyScene_004" needs to be saved as "MyScene_005", and "MyScene_005" alread exists, then "MyScene_005" will be replaced by the current scene you are saving incrementally. - Cancel saving will cancel the whole saving procedure. - Use New Name will allow you to save the current scene in the same folder as it presently is, but with another name. The name must be entered in the provided line bellow the button "Use New Name". Once you wrote the new name, you can either click the "Use New Name" button, or just hit enter. In this case, a second procedure will check that the name you defined is not already existing on the current location of Super Save 4

5 the scene (one never knows). If you are still trying to write over an existing name, then, you will be asked to choose another name. (until the name your propose does not overwrite anything). Image 3 : What happens if incremented name already exists III.b. V3D SSU Incremental Save Pro The behavior of the pro version is the same as the one as the basic version (silent mode, security procedures), but it will provide more options. Image 4 : Save INCREMENTALLY Pro Options Super Save 5

6 Render thumb / render tip : With the way you generally save, thumb (the little 91x91 image joined with your scene) is not rendered with the current render engine. It is not obvious - and it is sometimes impossible - with the thumbs provided they way they are to see the difference between various thumbs in material, shaders, backgrounds, depth of field settings, lights using only the different thumbs. If you check the "render thumb" option, then the thumb will be rendered for the incrementally saved scene with the current render engine, under the current view. This allows you to have a "rendered" preview of this scene, of all the scenes save this way, and of their evolution. But since thumbs are extremely small you can also want to render the tip. The tip is the 256x256 version of the thumb. It will also be rendered with the current render engine. For all these images, if your scene is save in a folder which you added as a new folder to your content library, then you will be able to preview thumbs and tips directly via the content library, and to load your scene directly by double clicking it the content library. (I highly encourage to install your work folders as content library folders, at least until your project is over). The render settings used will be the ones of the scene, with the current view/camera. But their size will be put at either 91x91 (thumb) or 256x256 (tip). It may be recommended as long as you don't render the "final" render to reduce the max samples in the progressive rendering for Iray renders in order to maintain fast saving operations if you decide to render tips and or thumbs. Enter Comment in text File In general, after a while, it becomes difficult to remember which key changes have been made to which scene. This is what the "Enter Comment in Text File" stands for. It will save a text (.txt) file, with the name of the scene ("MyScene_005.txt" corresponds to "MyScene_005.duf"). If you want a comment to be saved, you just have to write it the box. If you don't write it the box, no comment will be saved. If you want a comment to be saved, write in this box as you would do with a simple text editor. As soon as something is written in the box when you hit "Accept Options And Save" a comment file is saved. Comments for a scene or for a scene group based upon the same name can be displayed at any time using "SSU Display Comment" script. III.c. V3D SSU Save OVER PRO The SSU save over Pro allows you to save a scene with the same name in the same location (well to save over), but with all the additional options already described in the SSU Incremental Pro saver. Super Save 6

7 You will also be able to save the thumb and the tip of your scene for faster scene identification in your content library or using your computer file explorer, and it will also be possible to keep the history of the changes made in your scene using the window allowing to enter comments. If you don't enter comment, the comment will not be modified. In the comment box available, the comments already saved for this scene as well as the time these comments have been saved will be displayed. If you want to keep this history, keep it in the box and write your comment at the top of the history. If you want to remove this history, just delete the lines related to the history. Image 5 : Save OVER Pro Options III.d. V3D SSU Display Comments The SSU Display comments will allow you to see directly in Daz Studio the comment saved for the current scene, as well as the history of all comments saved for all incremented scenes based on the same name (i.e. if the current scene is "MyScene_007", you will see the comment for "MyScene_007", and a button will pop up a window showing all comments (sorted by decreasing scene name), of the "MyScene_***" files - and the one of "MyScene" file if existing. By default only the comment for the current scene is displayed. If you want to see all the comments you have to click on "Search And Display History of Comments". Take care : the search is limited to the current folder you work in. If you moved the comment files, or moved the comments elsewhere, the comments will not be found Super Save 7

8 (and will not be displayed). If a scene has no comment saved, it will not enter in the history of comments. Here are illustration of the way comments are displayed. Image 6 : Example of comments display. Name, folder, date are also displayed. Super Save 8

9 IV. Bonus Information You can reorganize, remove, and sort all the scripts you have in the custom script in a very easy way. For this you have to open the "customize" interface, accessible via the key "F3", or open via the Main Menu Window/Workspace/Customize. This will pop a window, with on the left pane, in "actions", a "custom" category, where you will find the custom files you have installed the way I mentioned in part II, and on the right part, you can click the "menus" pane, and you will have top of list, the "main menu". In the main menu, you will find "Scripts", where you can sort the scripts by selecting and moving them (left mouse button) and where you can create subfolders, delete elements, etc, etc. In the custom category (on the left) you can create shorcuts. Image 7 : the "Customize" interface Super Save 9

10 Be top efficient : create Shortcuts! You can create for instance a shorcut for the pro version (or the basic, or the display). For this, in the "Customize" pane (F3), - go in actions on the left and - click on the little "+" button just on the left of "Custom". - Then select for instance the pro version of the save files. - Right click on it. - In the middle, of the pop up window, you will find the "Change Keyboard Shortcuts". Click on it. You can now press a key or a combination of keys on your keyboard. For instance you can press "CTRL"+"ALT"+"S". This is done. - don't forget to press "Apply" and "Accept" at the right bottom corner of the "Customize" pane. And this is done. Now, when you will press "CTRL"+"ALT"+"S", you will automatically launch the pro version of the saving scripts! V. Conclusion I hope this product will save you as much time as possible. And will help you in your everyday scene development workflow, as much as it did for me. For any comments, questions, concerns, feedback, you can contact me directly on Daz Forum in the commercial thread dedicated to this product. Super Save 10